Hydraulic tower elevating device



g- 23, 1955 T. M. ROWAN HYDRAULIC TOWER ELEVATING DEVICE 4 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed April 4, 1949 INVENTOR. T JUmQEMFM VQLZ Aug. 23, 1955 T. M.ROWAN HYDRAULIC TOWER ELEVATING DEVICE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 4,1949 IN VEN TOR.

B13 150.222 QSMED W022 [/15 FEE/VT Aug. 23, 1955 'r. M. ROWAN HYDRAULICTOWER ELEVATING DEVICE 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 4, 1949 INVENTOR.Thamas MHzm azz Aug. 23, 1955 T. M. ROWAN HYDRAULIC TOWER ELEVATINGDEVICE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 4, 1949 INVENTOR. g TbDZZZQEMJFUWQZZ WT I United States Patent HYDRAULIC TOWER ELEVATING DEVICE ThomasM. Rowan, Long Beach, Calif., assignor to Wilson Manufacturing Company,Wichita Falls, Tex., a corporation of Texas Application April 4, 1949,Serial No. 85,299

Claims. (Cl. 189-14) This invention relates to improvements in hydraulicelevating devices, and more particularly to guiding hydraulic elevatingdevices which employ long slender, hy-

portion of the derrick partly broken away and with a 7 part thereofshown in dash outline;

draulically operated plungers, such as might be used in elevatingderricks, elevators, and the like to a considerable height.

While hydraulic cylinders have been employed heretofore in connectionwith lifting or elevating mechanisms, these for the most part, have beenrestricted as to use, due to the fact that, when suflicient length wasused for elevating an elevator or derrick, for instance, such plungerswere subject to lateral deflection, due to the great slenderness ratio.

An object of this invention is to provide an extensible hydraulicallyoperated elevating device, the plunger of which is supported againstlateral deflection.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hydraulic cylinder, theplunger of which is guided against lateral deflection at spacedintervals throughout the length thereof.

The present invention introduces certain modifications in the devicewhich forms the subject of a Patent No. 2,336,432, to John Hart Wilsonon Oil Well Service Mast, issued December 7, 1943.

In the drilling of deep wells by the rotary drilling method, relativelytall derricks are preferably employed,

and while it is desirable to make these derricks portable,

certain difiiculties in this respect have usually been encountered, suchas for example the inevitable conflict between the attainment ofadequate size as opposed to facility of transportation. It is thereforedesirable to construct such derricks in such manner that they may becollapsed, so as to reduce the size during transportation, as bytelescoping one section into another, or the like.

The present invention utilizes a hydraulic cylinder with a plungertherein, which plunger is adapted to lift the inner or upper part of thederrick a sufiicient distance to give the desired extension to thederrick, and with the guide member or members arranged to give lateralsupport to the extended plunger, at a point or points intermediate theend of the cylinder and the point of anchor of the plunger, so as toprevent lateral deflection of the plunger. The plunger thus braced issustained against lateral deflection, and it is possible for a plunger,so braced, to extend upward for forty feet or more with perfect safety.

An embodiment of this invention, together with a modification thereofare illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a drilling rig and derrick mountedon a vehicle, with parts broken away and shortened, with the derrickshown in raised position in full lines and in transport position indot-dash outlines, and with the invention applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the upper portion of the derrickor mast, showing the hydraulically extensible member in telescopedposition, and showing the outer Fig. 3 is an enlarged front elevationalview of the lower portion of the derrick with parts broken away,shortened, and showing the plunger in partially extended position, andwith a portion of the outer portion broken away and shown in dashoutline and a portion thereof in full outline;

Fig. 4 is an elevational view partly in section, of. the plunger guidedevice;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view through the hydraulicallyoperated raising mechanism, showing the mechanism in telescopedposition;

.Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5, but showing the plunger extendedand showing the plunger guide member intermediate the ends thereof; withparts shortened and broken away;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary elevational view, partly in section andshortened, showing the details of construction of the plunger guidemechanism;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7, looking inthe direction indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 9 is an elevational View partly in section and with parts brokenaway and shortened, of a modified form of plunger guide mechanism; and

Fig. 10 is an elevational view of a hydraulic cylinder raisingmechanism, showing a plurality of plunger guides with the liftingmechanism therefor.

With more detailed reference to the drawing, the numeral 1 designates avehicle on which a drilling mechanism 2 is mounted. A derrick or mast,generally designated at 3, is shown as being pivotally mounted at 4, onthe rear end of the vehicle 1, in the usual manner.

A hydraulic cylinder 5 is shown as pivoted to the vehicle or truck frame6, and which cylinder has a plunger 7 telescopically positioned thereinand connected to the derrick 3 by means of a pivot pin 8. The hydrauliccylinder 5 is adapted to raise the derrick from the horizontal position,as shown in dot-dash outline in Fig. 1, to the raised, full lineposition as shownin Fig. l.

The derrick, generally designated at 3, is composed of a base section 9and an upper or inner section 10, which upper section is adapted totelescope into the base section 9, substantially as set out in thePatent No. 2,336,432 mentioned above. A hydraulic plunger 11 isconnected to the lower section 9. of the derrick by means of a bolt 12,and said plunger passes upward through a gland into the hydrauliccylinder 14, which cylinder is anchored by a lug 15 at its upper end, tothe upper portion 10 of the derrick. In as much as a derrick, whenextended, may be ninety or more feet in height, it is often necessary toraise the upper section 10 thereof, forty or more feet, therefore, theplunger 11, which usually has a high slenderness ratio, will not havesuflicient strength as a column, unless supported laterally, to raisethe upper section 10 of the derrick to the full height. Therefore, tosuccessfully utilize a slender plunger that extends to such greatheight, it is necessary to provide means for bracing the plunger againstlateral deflection, intermediate the end of the cylinder and the pointat which the plunger is anchored. A guide member 16, as shown in Figs. 7and 8, is sleeved over plunger 11 and is adapted to be guided in theangular frame members 17, which frame members 17 are the upright framemembers of the base portion 9 of the derrick 3.

Rods 18 connect to the guide members 16, and each of the rods 18 extendupward into the respective, upstanding tubular members 19. The tubularmembers 19 are supported on a member positioned on the lower end of theupper derrick section 10. A boss 20 is secured near the upper end ofeach of the rods 18, which 1 to 8 inclusive.

boss forms a stop for engagement'with' cross member 21 positioned on thelower end of the upper derrick section 10. Each of the rods 18 extendsinto its respective tubular member 19 a suflicient distance to give atrue guided relation therebetween, and each of the rods 18 has anotherboss 22 spaced upward from theboss 20 so as to insure proper guidedrelation of the 'rods 18 in their respective tubular members 19. Thelower end of each rod 18 ispreferably threaded, and has nuts 23positioned thereon, on each side of a ,web 24; These webs-.24, one foreach of the rods 18,

are connected to plunger guide member 16. Therods '18 cause theliftingof the plunger guide member 16 upon engagement of the boss 20with cross member 21, upon the upward movement of upper derrick section10;

Upon application of'hydraulic pressure, through pipe *25, to the lowerend of tubular plunger 11, hydraulic reaction will be caused onhydraulic cylinder.14, as the hydraulic cylinder '14 is sealed aroundplunger 11 at V its lower end by a packing member 26 which'prevents 7 Vtains the plunger 11 in guided'relation a predetermined distance abovethe lower support pin 12. When the 30 derrick has reached its fullextended position," it is preferable to have this plunger guide memberapproximately halfway betweenthe lower end of the cylinder 14 and thesupport bolt 12, to raise the derrick shown in Figs.

Operation V In the operation of the mechanism, hydraulic pressure isapplied bya suitable pump P positioned on the vehicle in theusualmanner, through a hose H which leads to the lower end of the cylinder 5.This will cause der rick or? mast 3 to move from the horizontal positionT as shown in dot-dash outline in Fig. l to an upright position. I tothe upright position, it is still telescoped, the section 10 beingtelescoped within the base section 9.

However, after the derrick 3 has been raised With thederrick in uprightposition, and with snub 'lines S properly tightened, hydraulic pressure'is' applied by pump P through hose 25 to the lower end of plunger 11which will cause a hydraulic reaction to lift the cylinder 14, the upperend of which cylinder is anchored at 15 near the upper end of the uppersection 10 of the derrick. This will cause the upper section 10 l 'ofthe derrick to move into extended position, as shown in'full outline inFig. 1; After the derrick is' extended to the desired height, latches,such as those shown in Patent No. 2,336,432, will be caused to engageand lock the two derrick sections together. 7 9

Upon extending the upper section 10 of the derrick, the cross member 21on the ,lower end thereof-will engage bosses 20 on the rods 18, whichwill raise the plunger guide member 16 to a position approximatelyone-half the length of the laterally unsupported. plunger 11, so as toguide the. plunger against lateral deflection when a load is appliedthereto, as by raising the derrick section 10. The outer corners of theplunger guide member 16 will interfit within angular frame members 17,which will brace the plunger guide member 16 against lateraldisplacement.

Guy lines L may be used to brace the upper portion of the derrickagainst displacement while it is in operating position. The derrick 3 isthus held in this position until the latches are released and the guylines redeflection of the plunger.

While only two plunger guide members 43 and. 47

In order to put the derrick back into transport position from theoperating position, pressure is released from the plunger 11 by meansofvalve V, and with the pressure released the upper section 10 of thederrick will telescope into the lower section. After the derrick section10 is telescoped intobase section 9, the pressure a is released fromhose H by valve V, which will permit retraction of the plunger 7 intocylinderS, uponmovement of the derrick about pivot 4. The derrick mayeither be pulled rearward by snub lines S, or the double acting cylinder5 may be employed. Upon the derrick assuming the position as shown indot-dash outlinein Fig. l, the vehicle 1 may be used to transport thederrick and the rotary drilling rig, as desired.

A modified form of the invention is shown in Figs.' 9 and 10 forlaterally supporting hydraulic plungersj which are of such length as torequire a plurality of lateral support members.

as an elevator, or the like.

The hydraulic cylinder 31 is secured to the cross or support member 32.Aplunger 33 'is adapted to telescope into cylinder 31 to the extentnecessary to accommodate a section of the desired length to give theproper ,height to the derrick when in fully extended position.

The cylinder 31' is provided with an anchor lug 34' atthe upper end andthe plunger 33 is provided with an anchor lug 35 at the lower endthereof. A suitable conduit 36' isconnected with the interiorof plunger33,.so upon application of pressure by a, pump 37, the hydrauliccylinder 31 will be caused to move upward into extended position, asshown in Fig. 10. Also connected to cross member 32 is a tubular member38, in which a second tubular member 39 is telescoped. The tubularmember 39 is substantially as disclosed in Fig. 9, having a capthreadably secured thereon to. form a guide boss 40 on the upper endthereof, and a stopboss 41 is spaced downward from the upper endso as tomaintain a length of tubing 39 within tubing 38 in axially alignedrelation The tubular member 39 passes through cross member 32, but thestop 41 is of such construction as to prevent its passagetherethroughwhen the tubular member 'is in extended position as shown in Fig. 9. Thetubular member 39 has a rod 42 positioned therein which is 39. A guideboss.44 is positioned on the upper end of rod 42 and a stop boss 45 ispositioned a spaced distance downward on the rod 42, from guide boss 44,for engagement with a guide member 43 when the rod 42 is in extendedposition. The rod 42 is preferably threaded at its lower end to receivenuts 46 thereon.

A plunger guide 47 is slidably mounted on plunger. 33 V and is securedon the lower end of rod 42rbetween the 7 nuts 46, so that, upon raisingrod 42, the guide member 47 will be. raised along the plunger have beendescribed and shown, it is to be understood that, by making the guidemembers tubulan the principle can be carried forward to employ anydesired numberof guides within a reasonable limit and that the plunger33 may be of any reasonable length and still be maintained againstlateral movement by guides positioned at a spaced intervals along thelength thereof. h

It is also understood that changes. and a may be made in the minor.detailsof construction, without departing from the spirit of theinvention as-claimed.

extending substantially throughout the length of said.

I The hydraulic cylinder 31' may be installed ,in' a derrick similar tothat illustrated in Fig. 1, or applied to any'other suitable structure,such 33 to prevent lateral dap tations inner element substantiallyparallel with the axis thereof, a movable member slidably mounted withinsaid rigid frame, means anchoring an end of one said element to saidmovable member, means anchoring the opposite end of said other elementagainst movement relative to sad rigid frame, bracing means mounted inaxial sliding contact with said inner element and an axial slidingengagement with said rigid frame, and lost motion linkage meansconnecting said movable member and said bracing means for moving thelatter along said inner element during extension of said structurebeyond the extent of lost motion of said linkage, whereby said bracingmeans act between said rigid frame and said inner element intermediatethe ends of the latter when said structure is fully extended.

2. The combination defined in claim 1, said rigid frame being ofrectangular section and comprising corner members and said bracing meanscomprising a rectangular framework slidably engaged between said cornermembers, said framework having a central bearing portion in slidingengagement with said inner element.

3. The combination defined in claim 1, said lost motion linkagecomprising a pair of telescoping elements of smaller length than that ofsaid first-named elements.

4. The combination defined in claim 1, said lost motion linkagecomprising a series of telescoping elements of successively smallersection, and said bracing means including a plurality of bracing memberseach secured to one of said last-named elements other than that oflargest section.

5. The combination defined in claim 1, said extensible structurecomprising a cylinder and plunger, said movable member being the upperpart of an extensible derrick and said rigid frame comprising the lowerpart of said derrick, said cylinder being anchored to said upper derrickpart and said plunger being anchored against movement relative to saidlower derrick part.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS143,182 Pierson Sept. 23, 1873 669,492 Gill Mar. 5, 1901 762,627 FinkJune 14, 1904 2,305,181 McCray Dec. 15, 1942 2,336,432 Wilson Dec. 7,1943 2,453,350 Stegeman Nov. 9, 1948

